Our Green Journey

Since we opened in 2013, we have been working towards making Ballyrusley B&B an enjoyable rural retreat while at the same time working towards making our property as green as possible. We have become members of Green Tourism because we really believe that we can promote sustainability throughout the business. In May 2015, we were awarded the coveted Green Tourism Silver Award.​We openly encourage guests on bicycle holidays by providing secure lockable facilities. We also encourage walkers with or without their dogs! We compost garden waste on site and we also make full use of the initiatives set up by Ards Borough Council for recycling household waste. As our family includes three golden retrievers, there is very little opportunity to waste food!

There are so many things to see and do in the area and we carry a range of Tourist information and literature.

We purchased the property in 2012 and one of the first things we did was to plant five fruit trees in the garden. Since then we have increased the stock each year. By the end of 2019 we had added three more fruit trees plus Willow, Rowan and other native species.

We have also recently purchased two citrus trees that will happily sit outside during the summer and give a good aroma inside during the winter. The guest lounge has a Calamondin- a bitter miniature red citrus variety.

We have also started to clear the back yard and, in 2015, we introduced three raised beds so that we are now able to grow our own vegetables nd, in the true spirit of Green Tourism, we have been fortunate to acquire our top soil from a local farmer, thus avoiding the need to bring lorry loads of topsoil down to the southern part of the Ards Peninsula.

From 2013 we have been planting flowers - the more the merrier! We now have two meadow areas with different grasses and flowers and have been letting healthy plants 'take-over'. As a result of this we have seen an increase in insect life including lots of bees who are busy throughout the summer.

We have been working towards saving energy by using low watt rated light bulbs and changing our detergents to the eco-friendly variety.

1) Luke's Eggs

Locally Sourced ProduceWe believe that all our guests should be well prepared for the day ahead - and that means a locally sourced breakfast of the highest quality.

Although we are just one mile outside Portaferry, Ballyrusley B&B is lucky to have two neighbours who supply us with excellent produce. We source our eggs from local producers, including Luke who, since he was 12, has sold his eggs every Saturday from his Dad's farm supplies company in Ballyrusley Road.

Just a few doors away, in the Portaferry direction, is Derry Farm where our neighbours, Just Live A Little, manufacture their range of Granola (picture 2). Their business is expanding and their produce is available from a number of outlets including Hastings Hotels, Tesco, Asda, Spar, Centra and other retailers.

There are a number of high quality producers and retailers in Portaferry and we regularly offer their produce on our breakfast menu.

From Brendan Arthurs, the local butchers, we buy the delicious home produced sausages and bacon that we serve at breakfast (3).

2) Just Live A Little Granola

3) Brendan Arthurs

4) The Country Garden

Colm at his shop in Portaferry, The Country Garden, provides the fresh fruit salad we offer as a breakfast starter (4).

Anna at The Rock Bakery provides the locally baked G.I. loaves so enjoyed by our guests.... this is in addition to our own homemade bread (5).

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5) The Rock Bakery

The two Spar supermarkets in town are our suppliers of general groceries, dog food and anything else we have forgotten! (7)